Impact of Information and Communication Technologies Essay

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of the multifaceted impacts of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) on business, society, and culture. It examines both the positive and negative effects of ICT, including its influence on business operations, societal interactions, cultural shifts, and health outcomes. The essay also explores the crucial role of computer professionals in ensuring the ethical use of emerging ICT applications, emphasizing the importance of adhering to ethical guidelines and addressing privacy and security concerns. Furthermore, the essay highlights the future implications of ICT and the evolving responsibilities of computer professionals in a rapidly changing technological landscape, concluding with a balanced perspective on the overall significance of ICT for societal and economic development. The essay also provides an overview of the ethical considerations for computer professionals and the importance of the code of ethics in the field of computing. The essay uses 20 references according to Harvard referencing style, and the essay is 1500 words without the references.

RUNNING HEAD: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY 0
Information and Communication Technologies
Student’s Details-

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY 1
Impact of Information and Communication Technologies on Business,
Society and Culture
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is the broad term to be used for the
Information and Technology (IT) which focuses on the use of telecommunication and the
computers which are necessary for the manipulation and transferring of the information in such a
way that it is effectively used by the people and the business enterprises and play a crucial role in
the society (Katz, 2017). It is important for the nation to earn national competitive advantage and
is considered as the economic pillars as it enhances the quality of the human life (Niebel, 2018).
The essay will discuss the positive or negative impact of ICT on business, society and culture.
The essay has also discussed the role of professionals in the ethical use of ICT.
There are several positive effects of ICT on the business as it helps in the effective combination
of communication and telephone lines through a unified system of cabling and signal distribution
(Gouvea, et al., 2018). This is widely used in the business enterprises which positively affect the
business as it avails the business with access of information through the online platforms
supporting ICT which enables the business to manage the human resources and take effective
decisions. The business can effectively manage the information of the customers through various
ICT channels and saves a lot of time and cost of the customers (Rehmani, et al., 2018). Apart
from this, ICT has negative influence on the business as it has increased the privacy concerns for
the customers due to the utilization of computer systems for the storing of information of the
customers (Chen & Schulz, 2016). Also, due to the growing use of ICT for various kinds of
business purpose, it has increased dependence on the computer systems for the business
operations. Besides, business needs to spend a sum of money on the ICT software and hardware
which is expensive and difficult to maintain by the business enterprises and thus have a negative
impact on the business organizations.
Further, there is huge of ICT on society wherein the use of information technology has helped
people to make their life easier and also availed the access of information which shows that ICT
affects the society in a positive way. People have been benefitted by the use of information
technology as it is enhancing the standard of living and also enables the people in the effective
sharing of information (Graham & Dutton, 2019). Thus, ICT is considered to be an important

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part of daily life and is a trend for the continuous social and personal development of the people
(PC Dreams , 2016). ICT has also availed the access to education in which the people can create
a new way of learning and thereby affects the group of people and increase in their knowledge
through the multi-media and virtual reality.
Besides, ICT has negatively affected the society as people nowadays are indulged into the
computer systems and the electronic gadgets which have adversely affected the health of the
people (Vaishnavi & Kuechler, 2015). Due to the positive use of ICT, there has been a negative
impact on the society as it has decreased the social interactions of the people and reduced
physical activity leading to serious impact on the health of the people leading to several diseases
to the people. Also, ICT has been making the people job less as people are switching to
technologies rather than the people for the operations. It has reduced the job opportunities for the
people which are concerned to be the major drawbacks of using ICT from the perspective of
society (Burbules, 2018).
Further, ICT has positively affected the health of the people as people have reduced various
kinds of issues and the daily activities which can be beneficial for their health. ICT has availed
various kinds of equipment for exercises and particularly the certain applications that have
enabled the people to improve their health (Tarafdar, et al., 2015). All these advancements have
been possible by the use of ICT which has improved the health of the people. Besides, this has
negative impact on the health of the people due to reduction in the physical activity of the people
which has led to several health problems such as obesity and various kinds of heart diseases.
Thus, lack of physical activity has led to the specific health hazards leading to serious impact on
the health of the people (Lee, et al., 2016).
ICT has majorly affected the culture as the development of communication and information
technologies has changed the way people interact, live and maintain their cultural identity. Thus,
it has a positive impact on the culture due to the changes made into the society because of the
communication and the technology (Capurro, 2018). Due to the wide sharing of information in
ICT, it has enhanced the level of education and also made the inclusion of all the people which
increases the tendency of shared values and beliefs and thereby having a positive impact of
culture (Teledata ICT, 2017). Further, use of ICT brings people together and create the tendency
of making the people aware of several kinds of art expressions and also making people more

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advanced. Moreover, ICT has been imposing a negative impact on the culture as ICT spreads
every information to anyone which harms the culture as the kids or adults may go through the
irrelevant information and thereby harming the environment (Rashid & Asghar, 2016). Also, ICT
may adversely affect the culture through the widespread use of wrong information or the content
which leads to unethical practices to be adopted by the people and harms the beliefs and values
or a particular region or a country (Madon & Krishna, 2018).
Computer professionals have to maintain certain level of obligations and act in an ethical way
when using Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The role of computer
professionals is crucial as they work for the availing the useful information and thus, it is crucial
for the professionals to act in an ethical way through following the several guidelines that are
prescribed in the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) (Thornley, et al., 2018). It
includes the code of ethics that helps the professionals to take the decisions about the
professional work. Specifically, the role of computer professional is limited to make use of ICT
in such a way that it contributes to the society and has more welfare of the people (Warren &
Lucas, 2016). Moreover, the computer professional must respect the privacy of the customers
and uphold the employee loyalty in order to make an ethical is of ICT.
Further, in the light of the general moral imperatives pertaining to the professionalism under the
ACM, the computer professionals are bound to act honestly and make a trustworthy relationship
with the customers and the employees. The role of computer professional is also be highlighted
to act honest and maintain dignity. The responsibilities of the computer professional are to
ensure the professional competence and fair use of technology that can serve the best interest of
people and the society as a whole (Banoglu, et al., 2015). Due to the specialized knowledge into
the respective fields, the computer professionals possess a better knowledge and understanding
of the computers. In the future of ICT, the role of computer professional is to make an ethical use
of technology in which it does not harm the people, organization or a community as a whole
(Capurro, 2018). Also, complying with the code of ethics is a crucial role of computer
professional in order to maintain the ethical excellence. Also, the professional is expected to
make the understanding of the privacy concerns which is an ethical way to treat the customers
and also make sure that security issues are not hampered (Ibieta, et al., 2017).

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To conclude, it can be said that information and communication technology is crucial for the
development of the society and also economic development of the nation. Rather, ICT has major
impact on the business, society and the culture and have an impact on the society as a whole.
Moreover, the computer professionals have to make sure that the ICT is not harming the people
and also following the ethical guidelines. Here, the essay has discussed the positive and negative
impact of ICT on business, society and culture. ICT has given the large opportunity to make life
easier and at the same time, it is disadvantageous for the society as well as it affects the society
in a negative way. Also, the essay has discussed the future role of computer professional in the
ethical use of ICT and also an appropriate way of using the technology under the prescribed code
of ethics.

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